Do or Die
by Susie G
Summary: With an injured Emily will she and Hotch be able to save lives at the threat of terrorists wanting bomb a hospital on a do or die mission in an amubulance ride with a bomb. Based off the episode mayhem with my own little twist to it, before Haley has died but after the divorce.
1. Chapter 1

_There was question about the location of it being in LA instead of New York. I changed the location of where it took place to make it more my own instead of following directly with the actual episode. I did have a typo mentioning a Susan and I apologize. The name should be Emily not Susan. So I re-posted it corrected. I am so sorry for all the confusion. If you like Emily and Hotch I hope you enjoy this. I do not own anything of Criminal Minds and or its affiliates! If you like it quick and to the point this may be more your style. _

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Emily's SUV was sitting outside of the federal building. Her and Detective Hodges from the L.A. PD had plans on going to one of the incident command centers. They exited the building through the glass doors and Detective Hodges went up to the passenger door as Emily walked around. When she pressed the unlock button an explosion came from the vehicle sending her flying ten feet into the street knocking her unconscious.

When Emily came to her ears were ringing violently, the ringing was deafening. She tried to stand up and she quickly fell back down hollering out in pain. A piece of the SUV was sticking in her calf muscle and she couldn't stand up. She looked around and didn't see Detective Hodges. Using her forearms she was able to pull herself in a belly crawl towards the SUV. As she got closer she could make out a figure lying on the ground and new without further attempt at checking that he was dead.

* * *

Garcia saw the explosion on one of her cameras. She alerted the team members she could, before cell service went completely out. JJ could not be reached because of cell phone service as she made her way to one of the incident command centers. Reid, Rossi, Morgan and Hotch went to the scene of the accident.

* * *

Emily looked to the right and saw the barricade of ambulances, police officers, and black SUVs. She knew that they wouldn't come any closer because they were the target for the second attack. She shifted her body heading straight towards the barricade and began the long attempt to crawl towards it with some help of the use of her un-injured leg.

When she began the long crawl she saw movement from her peripheral vision and looked to her left and to her right. Two of the un-subs were following her parallel inside the breezeway of connected buildings.

"Hotch what does she keep looking at?" Morgan said

"She keeps looking to her left then to her right." Reid said.

Hotch looks and doesn't see anything. "I don't know but we can't leave her out there." She was about 150 yards out. Morgan and Hotch move past the barricade.

Emily looked up from the ground as she was crawling when she saw a glimpse of movement in front of the barricade. When the barricade was crossed she noticed the two terrorists speak on a hand held device. She quickly concluded they were making a signal for the second explosion. She looked in front of her as her team members came towards her and urgently pleaded, "Get back! Get back! If you cross the barricade their going to set off another bomb!" Morgan and Hotch fell back.

Emily stopped for just a second to catch her breath and when she did the two un-subs following her stopped, lifted up their guns and started shooting over her head. The ringing in her ears had decreased slightly before the shots were fired but the increase in sound caused them to ring deafeningly loud with a constant pulse of pain from her inner ear. She placed her hands over her ears, "Ah, please stop!" They quit shooting and started laughing at her when they stopped. They made a motion for her to keep moving and if she didn't they would shoot again, and this time they wouldn't miss. She put her hands back down and started pulling her body weight again. "They won't let me stop! Their following me through the breezeway under the buildings!" She yelled to her team who stood eagerly waiting across the barricade.

"Morgan you and Rossi get a few other guys and try to ease up behind them, but go around at a far enough distance where they can't see you coming. I'll stay here and wait."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Try to get in touch with JJ and let her know what's happened. She should be at one of the incident command centers."

Hotch was left standing at the barricade. He despised the feeling of helplessness he felt. Only yards away and he could do nothing without endangering the lives of forty to fifty people.

She slowly crept closer and closer. Every time she looked up her eyes met with Hotch, they were her strength at getting through. She didn't want to disappoint anyone or give anyone the idea that she wasn't a strong person because she is. Once again she looked at those eyes and didn't let them leave this time. It seemed as though Hotch was cheering her on without saying a word. The pain in her arms was unbearable and her hands were embedded with shards of glass and metal. She moved and kept moving, she didn't quit and when she got in arms length of Hotch she reached out her hand. He grabbed it and swept her into his arms off the street.

"Thank you." She said

When he jumped into the back of the ambulance both of their guns were immediately pulled from their sides by two of the terrorists. The doors were shut and one of the terrorists moved to the front seat and started driving away.

Hotch was reluctant to lay Emily on the gurney knowing that it would put her closer to one of the men who had committed some of many murders. As soon as she was laid on the gurney the sirens were flipped on. Emily's hands went straight to her ears. She saw Hotch yelling towards the driver but couldn't hear a word he said.

Hotch was yelling at him to, "Turn off the sirens!"

The terrorist who was driving looked back with a big smile, "It's not an emergency if the sirens aren't on."

He looked at Emily and she looked up at him and in a barely audible voice he said, "It won't be long." At that moment their eyes saw something in each other that neither one had explored before. She was a tough girl but she was showing her vulnerability and felt embarrassed.

With little to know hearing she smiled and said, "I'll be fine." She brought her hands down to try to hide the fact of how much pain she was in. Hotch could still see the look of pain on her face and so desperately wanted to get her help and out of this hostage situation.

The terrorist in the back of the ambulance with the gun pointed at them said, "Give me your credentials both of you!" When they were in his hands he flipped them open, "We will need these to get into the hospital."

"The hospital?" Hotch replied.

"Yep that's where the big boom is going to happen. See the hospital is on lockdown because they are holding someone very special who we would like to kill. And see as how I have your credentials now we won't be needing you anymore Agent Hotchner. You can look at this as a way of me saving your life. Because we have all of about 5 minutes before this is going to explode."

He looked to Emily and the back doors swung open, "Go ahead and jump. If you don't I will kill her."

Emily saw he was hesitating because of her and she said, "Go Aaron!" He pulled the terrorist by the shirt and dragged him off the ambulance with him. The driver didn't even notice.

Emily looked over to her right and noticed some sedatives. She got two needles and filled them full. Without making much sound she stood on her one foot and barley had her toe down on the other and she limped two steps toward him and then dived jamming the two needles into the driver's neck, "Say goodbye." She mocked. He was out within a matter of seconds. With her adrenaline in overdrive she hopped on top of his limp body and steered the ambulance into the park that was nearby. She struggled to move his foot on the gas but when she did she opened the door preparing to jump out, "Yep this is going to hurt." She said. She bent her knees, and just that little bend sent a shooting pain through her calf muscle, but she had to go with it and pushed off. When she landed the piece of SUV in her leg went even deeper and she hollered out in pain.

Seconds later was the explosion that sent a rush of unbearable pain in her ears that wouldn't let up, along with pieces of shrapnel sticking into her body like a dart board.

Hotch saw the explosion from where he was on the side of road, next to the dead terrorist he had killed and he immediately ran towards it. When he got there Emily was laying on the ground in pain. The explosion this time had completely deafened her. The adrenaline rush she had completely left her body. She could barely lift her arms as the achiness from crawling 150 yards had caught up with her. She began to feel every little piece of shrapnel in her arms and legs as she moved. The pain began to overtake her body and as she looked up at the sky it began spinning. She closed her eyes.

Hotch got to where the explosion was and saw her, He yelled her name but got no response. He finally got up to her body and when he touched her she quickly turned thinking it was someone bad. To her surprise it was Hotch. She could see his mouth moving but understood nothing. He started to go blurry and then she blacked out.

When she woke up she was in the hospital. She could hear the nurses talking and the ringing in her ears was little to none but things were definitely not as loud as they used to be. Everything still seems to be muted but at least she could hear. She looked down and saw her leg was bandaged as well as her hands that had been picked free of glass and metal. A doctor walked in, "Well I see you're awake." He said.

"I'm glad to be able to hear you say that."

"I bet you are. The damage to your ears was pretty severe but you should make a full recovery. Your team is waiting for you in the waiting room would you like to see them?"

"Yes please, that would be great." She waited and waited and then she saw Hotch and not the whole team. "Where is everybody else? Did they go back to the hotel?"

"No. Their waiting I wanted to see you first. How are you doing?"

"I can hear and the doc said I'll make a full recovery."

"That is good news."

"Hotch I'm sorry for calling you Aaron earlier."

"It fine. I liked hearing it. Not too many people call me Aaron."

"I won't make a habit of it, I promise."

She looked down at her bandaged up hands and started fidgeting with her fingers and she kept looking down at her hands when she started speaking, "I was okay you know." She panicked; she didn't know what else to say, _that just sounded so stupid_. "I mean I can handle things." The silence was unbearable. She felt her face get flushed. _What was I trying to say. It wasn't making sense. He must think I'm so stupid._

Hotch had that concerning, questioning look in his eyes. He took that moment to watch her behavior. "I know you're a strong person that is part of what makes you a good agent, I never questioned that."

"Oh okay, good, and I wasn't saying you did it's just that.." She looked away.

"What is it?"

"I'm just embarrassed; I didn't want you to think I was weak for any reason, that I can still do my job."

"I've never doubted that. Your reactions were normal."

"Thanks for helping me too by the way."

"I wanted to and I was glad I was there."

"You know something, I was really and truly scared I wasn't going to make it and in that ambulance I don't know what came over me but it worked." She kept talking, but everything she said seemed to beat around the bush and Hotch's response summed it up.

"It's okay to feel and react to situations in a way that may seem vunerable or make you feel like your exposed, your only human."

"Thank you." She said with her beautiful smile.

"You're welcome and I'd help you again any time."

"Hopefully not anytime soon. I think this has done me in for a few days."

They looked at each other for a moment feeling that something more was wanting to burst out but instead Hotch said, "I'll go get the rest of the team, I'm sure they want to see you just as much as I did." He walked out of the room with the realization of what he just said hitting him like a ton of bricks. He stopped and thought. _Did I just say that? I wonder if she took it the wrong way. _He turned around and entered her room again, "I meant I wanted to see you just as much as them in a friendly way." He said embarrassed and un-sure of what to say next.

She laughed, "Its fine."

Then Garcia and the team in tow came into her doorway, "We just couldn't wait any longer!" Ending the moment of awkwardness and sending Emily and Hotch into thinking that maybe there could be something more.

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_Hoped you liked it! I love dialogue. Please review! Maybe next time I can write one more descriptive who knows. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Here is a continuation with the start of their feelings for each other._

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It had been a couple of weeks since the explosion. Emily had finally been cleared to go on the plane since the incident, and was looking forward to the next case, but she also looked forward to something else every day she walked in the office, Hotch. Ever since they have got back from California she finds herself compulsively looking in Hotch's direction whether it be while he's sitting at his desk, standing in the room or waiting for him to walk through the door. She had to continually force herself to look away. She didn't want to seem obvious.

When he had come back into her room at the hospital, feeling obviously embarrassed for what he had said caused her stomach since then, to do flips at the pure sight of him or the sound of his voice. This was a new feeling for her. She had never felt this way, maybe when she was on a roller coaster, or in a tense situation involving life or death, but never just at the thought of another person especially Hotch.

Yes, he was the tall, dark, handsome, extremely mysterious Aaron Hotchner. W_hy all this now? Why had these feelings been so overwhelming?_ _This is just some stupid girly crush why is it such a big deal? _Her mind pondered.

She sat at her desk with the time ticking by. She needed another case as a distraction; paperwork was not big enough to keep her mind off of him. She looked at the unfinished paperwork on her desk and then her mind trailed off again.

Could he possibly feel the same about her? He was the one who was embarrassed for what he said. If he had kept walking and hadn't tried to explain what he had said to her, she would have never thought twice about it. She knows without a doubt he cares about her as he would any other member of the team, but for him to be embarrassed could mean he did feel something.

She looked towards the door looking for him to walk in. He had an appointment this morning causing him to run a little late. Emily quickly looked back at her desk hoping no one had noticed her glance towards the door. Looking at her paperwork she saw the outline of a body with notes written on it from an autopsy report. _His body, I've never thought about that. He is an extremely attractive man. How I would love to feel those muscles and squeeze his…_

"Prentiss." He had come through the glass doors behind her with out her even noticing.

Emily jumped at the sound of his voice, thinking she had just got caught, for her thoughts. She felt her face flush. Embarrassed by her reaction, and the thoughts she had about Hotch, she hesitated to make eye contact, but finally looked up at him.

Hotch was a little taken back by her reaction, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Was there something you needed?"

Hotch looked at the autopsy report and the papers next to it and noticed she hadn't got too much work done. He looked back at her, "I need to go meet with the Coroner she has some information that she doesn't want the media to get a hold of. I would like for you to go with me."

"Yes sir." She stood up and followed him out the door.

* * *

They started out of the parking garage and Emily asked, "So what kind of information does she have?"

"She wouldn't tell me over the phone."

"Sounds like we might have another case."

Hotch was quiet. He had been worried about Emily since they have got back from California. She didn't seem to be herself and as Unit Chief he didn't hesitate to ask, "How have you been doing?"

Emily didn't know what to say. How was she doing with what? "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You seem different since you have been back. You seem to be more distracted."

She definitely was more distracted, by Hotch, not by what she had went through in California. Had it really been that noticeable to him? She had never let a man be a distraction before and she won't let it happen now. Emily put Hotch out of her mind as best as she could and said, "I'm sorry if my work is being affected since I've been back. It won't happen again."

Hotch shot her a few concerned glances and saw her mood and emotions change. A light seemed to go out of her. Something was bothering her but she obviously just put it on the back burner. "Fine, but if there is anything you need to talk about my door is always open."

She nodded.

Hotch suddenly felt something for Emily he had never felt before. Why had he gone back into the hospital room to explain what he had said? Did that mean he really did like her? He looked at her and she gave him a smile, when she did he stomach flipped. _Don't fall for it. You don't have time for a beautiful woman in your life. Beautiful? Did I just really think that? _He looked to her again and smiled.

"Wow, and he smiles." Emily said making a joke.

His heart raced he did just smile. _Could I be any more obvious?_

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone." Emily giggled out loud, "You should do it more often." Emily had a right to be attracted to someone. She wanted to think about him, and talk to him. He had made her feel safe when he picked her up off the ground, carrying her to the ambulance. She needed that. She needed that someone to make her feel safe, and wanted. Hotch could give that to her, but this job didn't allow for any type of interrelations as demanding as it is. So she had to let it die, if she could.

Emily had been the first woman to make him smile in a long time. There is something special about her he can't put his finger on. For now he needed to keep it on the back burner and focus on the task at hand.

Maybe someday.

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_Hope you like it! Please Review I like to know what you think!_


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